


Balance

by cledritch



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: All of Johnny's friends are no help, Alternate Universe, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Awkward Conversations, Ballet Dancer Winwin, Jaewin are friend goals, Johnny doesn't know what to do with his crush, M/M, SK8ter Boi AU, Skater Johnny, Some Plot, Strangers to Lovers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Yuta and Taeyong are lowkey Winwin's parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-09-27 13:20:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10022366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cledritch/pseuds/cledritch
Summary: He was always about making sure he didn't fall off his skateboard. Except suddenly he's thrown off his balance when he doesn't even manage to catch himself developing a crush on a ballet dancer.





	1. Centripetal

**Author's Note:**

> Why did this turn into a monster when I wanted a small drabble TT TT It's based off of [this post by pinkwinwin](https://pinkwinwin.tumblr.com/post/156452551303/ummm-i-need-a-johnwin-sk8erboiau-with-a-happy)  
> [(moodboard)](http://cledritch.tumblr.com/post/156792475762/moodboard-for-the-sk8ter-boi-johnwin-au-based-on)  
> All the skating/ballet stuff here is not accurate and I dedicate this to the owner of the prompt and karla because she always motivates just by talking to me uwu

The first time he saw the boy sniffing flowers in the park, he had lost his balance doing an Ollie and fell flat on his butt.

It's not the first time he's made this mistake, often because his legs were too long for him to properly maneuver with when he was lost in thought but it's the way that the black-haired boy that is a few steps away holding a rose that's still attached to the hedge that the park was bordered with turned his head to see the commotion, blinking his eyes in a manner that reminded Johnny of kittens when they were curious that sent his heart pounding. The boy doesn't seem to care after he saw it was just Johnny and his skateboard lying beside him upturned and leaned his head to sniff the rose, petals brushing on the tip of his nose before he let go of it to turn and leave.

Johnny is dumbfounded, blushing as he stared at the boy's retreating form trying to memorize the navy blue jumper and red bag slung over his shoulder before there's a hand waving in front of his face. He closed his eyes tight to try and hide whatever emotion flitted through them before he looked up to see Hansol who's sporting a look of confusion and turned to where Johnny was looking.

"Did you hit your head and started to hallucinate again?"

Johnny made a sound of protest as he stood up, picking up his skateboard and rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment that he forgot about teaching Hansol some new tricks because of some boy. A pretty boy but Johnny knew Hansol wouldn't let him live it down. "Shut it. Gravity pushed me down."

Hansol rolled his eyes, patting Johnny's head to mock him. He always did that whenever he knew that Johnny was hiding something, "Or you got hit by some invisible force that will make you the defender of this park."

Johnny schooled a blank expression, looking at Hansol in the eye before he said "Your otaku references don't make sense." He knew he had butchered the word with the glare Hansol is giving him, punching him lightly in retaliation. 

"Whatever. You should start showing me that again or I'll just leave."

"Go and leave, I don't care." Johnny retorted in a joking manner that resulted with him being held in a chokehold while Hansol laughed at his demise. They settled with practicing for thirty minutes when the sun began to set, sweat making their shirts cling to their skin that they called quits and chose to get some milkshakes from the diner that was across the block.

Johnny almost gets a brain freeze when Hansol asked him again who he was looking at when he fell with how fast he slurped down his drink. The elder passed him some tissues to clean up some of the liquid he sputtered out, unimpressed eyebrow raised as Johnny started to try and skirt around the subject.

It's not about telling Hansol that he's interested in boys because the elder knew about when he found Johnny making out with Ten one unfortunate party where both of them just wanted to have some fun, Hansol's eyes turning wider than normal at the two of them half-naked before he vomited on their feet due to too much alcohol. Hansol didn't have much of a problem with the whole boy kissing boy agenda but it was more of that Johnny always had the thing about him that made most think of straighter than straight and girls flocked around him so it took him some getting used to.

The real reason he didn't want to tell Hansol was because he might tell him it sounds like love at first sight and he doesn't like the sound of it even when it's just a weird automated echo of what he thinks is Hansol's voice saying those words playing in his head.

 

 

Johnny gulped, fingers clenching on his skateboard clutched on his side when he spotted a familiar face walking ahead of him.

He's not sure if it's because he's been thinking too much of the boy that he's seeing things or that he really had the unfortunate luck to see him again after a week.

But the red bag is the same one from before, the pink sweater not fazing him as the boy walked in small steps that made him seem like he was bouncing with each, looking something out of a fairy tale picture book that the kid he babysat once a month, Jaemin, would show him. Johnny ducked behind a pole that he knew wouldn't be able to hide him out of shock the first time he saw it but when he realized that he looked insane, he continued walking.

"It's nothing, yep. Why am I nervous?" he told himself, looking through his bangs to find that the boy is walking the same way to the park where Johnny is headed. Is he going to smell the roses again? He slapped a hand over his face for that thought, wishing he could stop trying to figure out some stranger.

He's catching up to the boy, about a few steps away that he can see that his ears are mismatched and the boy is bobbing his head to the music from his white earphones. Johnny bit his lip, wondering if he should start a conversation but realized he had no reason. He can't just suddenly come up to him and talk about the weather without looking like a creep, the probability of screaming and calling the police high that he lagged his steps so that it would look like he was casually walking to the same direction.

The park is in view from where Johnny’s gaze is. The ramp that's behind the chain link fence made specifically for the skaters in the area is visible and there are a few people with their gear bringing noise to the place. He saw Taeyong doing a flip kick before he slammed back to the ramp, sliding back down the curve before he attempted an Ollie. He chuckled a little before turning to the entrance of the park and stopped when he realized that the boy from before isn't anywhere in front of him.

Johnny looked back, surprised as the boy continued walking before he lost him at the corner where he turned that he saw the boy's features are filled with worry.

"Did he know I was following him?" he asked himself, scared that he was exposed even before he could do anything but he shook his head in attempt to clear his head "Damn it." he murmured to himself before he went to greet his friends.

Taeyong fist-bumped him the moment he saw him, kohl-lined eyes making his intense gaze even more menacing that matched well with the black shirt that had slits on the sleeves as he folded them over his elbows and ripped jeans. Despite the eyebrows and sharp jaw that could cut, Taeyong was a rather nice guy who was more talk than bite and Johnny had always clicked with him even when they used to fight a lot over Ten before. It was evident that Ten made them friends instead and soon, they set their differences aside that they could read each other to some extent.

"What's wrong?" It was evident that Taeyong would ask that, trying to decipher why Johnny looked like he had killed someone and is waiting for the police to catch wind of him "You need help burying a body?"

The brunet rolled his eyes with a smile as he punched Taeyong's shoulder, dumping his skateboard to the ground with too much force than necessary.

This only made the latter ask again. "Seriously. You're gonna break your board if you channel your anger on it. Spill it, Seo."

"I just thought that your flip kick was missing something. Need a little more practice?" Johnny replied, standing on his skateboard and started to use his foot to help him roll back and forth to test the wheels if they were still working.

"Talk like an expert when you're not just skating on a straight line."

"You're on."

Amidst the Indy grabs, the endless aerials that often resulted with him getting the air knocked off him when he reached the ground and Taeyong constantly ramming his board against his to taunt him as they raced, Johnny still keeps an eye out on the entrance to see if the boy would pass by that he fell to his knees when he didn't look at where he was going.

 

 

"Can I help you, Ten?" he asked the younger who looked smaller than he should, smiling brightly down at him but only because Johnny is sitting on his skateboard eating an ice pop as Taeyong, Hansol and Jaehyun spoke about where they could put some graffiti because the skatepark already had their masterpieces and new areas needed to be explored. Ten, as they called him because his name is too long and it's something that Ten insisted on, didn't really fit that well with them appearance-wise with his angel-like looks, designer branded clothes that were in a style fit for a rich prep student but he had a streak of mischief that made him fit right in with them and their spiked clothes and heavy boots. Johnny is absent-mindedly pulling at the loose threads from the rips on his dark jeans when Ten came to stare at him.

The male's smile turned devious "Heard you needed a new canvas," he said in a sing-song voice that made you think he was talking about butterflies and rainbows if it weren't for his next words "The studio I go to for dance lessons had painted the front of their building white and it's begging to get tainted." he emphasized it with a wiggle of his eyebrows and Johnny grabbed him by the shoulder to drill his knuckles into the back of Ten's head.

"You seriously have the weirdest ideas," Johnny paused and added "Genius but weird."

"Come on. The owner always said they admired how youth expressed themselves through chaotic art but because the most popular lessons they have is ballet, they think it should reflect good moral character or something," Ten blanched at the thought, making Johnny think about a design that's pink and nauseating to look at. He shuddered.

Taeyong tapped a finger to his chin, contemplating. Hansol merely shrugged because he didn't partake in the activity unless they let him paint some of his anime favorites while Jaehyun would probably make some English phrases that don't make sense. "Why not?" Taeyong smirked, picking up the bag where they kept the spray paints, cans of paint when they want to splatter some for effect. Johnny finished his ice pop, brain freeze already settling in that he hunched over before he threw the stick away.

"So where is this studio?"

Ten moved his head to the side, pointing to the corner of a building "Just a little that way. It's the newer one that just opened when they started to put zumba in the old place. The old people really like zumba," he sighed and Hansol just stared at him.

"Taeil-hyung and I like zumba."

No one spoke for a minute. Taeyong hid his face into his palms. When it was clear that no one was going to speak up at this rate, Ten clapped his hands "Now what do you guys think about meeting up at ten?"

That was how Johnny got a spray can on one hand, chewing licorice as he covered his nose and mouth with the sleeve of his red jacket to avoid inhaling the toxic smell of paint. He liked the sound of the paint releasing out the nozzle, making a corn on the wall that's already covered with different things: Hansol's attempt of a Naruto silhouette, Taeyong writing NCT in some fancy font while Jaehyun had managed to scrawl 'That's why we're here, man!' on the top and Ten had made some splatter of red paint on the edges to make it look like a crime scene. The others are busy with their own creations making Johnny pick up the spare spray can and sprayed some shapes that he lined with black paint to give it the rustic feel it needed.

There's a flash of light from the end of the block, Taeyong's audible "Oh, shit. It's the cops!" making everyone pick up their things, shoving the spray cans into the bag before they grabbed anyone near them and started running. Johnny looked back at the two officers that's running after them and ducked his head so they wouldn't see him, footsteps echoing through the streets as his friends hollered before him. They ran over to the park where they kept a shortcut that was hidden behind the rose hedges that had a fence that was difficult to climb over when you didn't know how to maneuver, Ten hauling over it first before Hansol and then Taeyong. Johnny turned back, wondering where Jaehyun was and his blood ran cold when he didn't see the younger anywhere. He clicked his tongue, figuring out the other might have taken the wrong turn and he spun on his heel to run back to the direction of the studio.

"Damn it, Jung Jaehyun." he cursed, flattening his back to the wall and peeking out to see if the coast was clear. One of the police was surveying a few feet ahead and Johnny tried to find where the other was, walking slowly and out of sight while he looked at places that Jaehyun could have run off to. His boots often made a sound whenever he walked, wincing at it and looking up so he would be able to run if he needed before he felt someone grab the back of his jacket.

"This was the worst idea but I'm not ratting anyone out-" there's a hand clamping on his mouth to cut off his shout, muffling it that Johnny tried to struggle. He can tell the person is smaller than him and he hated that he got caught by a police that's shorter than  him by managing to sneak up to him, cursing Ten to the depths of hell but he's not dragged to the other officer. Instead, he looked over his shoulder to look at the one who caught him and his eyes widened.

The same boy from before placed a finger on his lips, eyebrows furrowed at the deer caught in headlights look Johnny initially had. When he saw the shock on Johnny's face that came after, he removed his hand and said "Come and keep quiet."

Johnny can't think straight, taking in the features up close of the boy that's been invading his thoughts and nodded dumbly as he is dragged by the arm, the place where the boy has his fingers around feeling warmer than he thought it should be. It's weird to have him this close, let alone touching him and he looked over the pointy ear, plump lips that's being bitten every few seconds that he wished he would stop and the eyes that looked like they're sparkling despite the lack of light.

"Um-" he got a finger on his lips to shut him up, narrowed eyes directed to him before he's being dragged to an alleyway that made his heartbeat start beating faster. Is this some karma thing where the boy he kind of likes is going to rob him?

"Thank god!" he heard a relieved shout that was loud enough for him to hear as Jaehyun emerged from the other side of the road that led to the park. Johnny sighed in relief as well as he gave Jaehyun a one-armed hug before he hit him upside his head. "What was that for?" the younger hissed, holding up a hand on where Johnny hit him.

"The hell did you lag behind? You'd rat us out given the circumstance." he hissed but the younger pouted, walking over to the boy who seemed to be typing on his phone ignoring them. Jaehyun slung an arm around him much to Johnny's surprise and leaned to the boy's shoulder.

"Please. Winwin here had my back the moment he saw me running for my life. He's the best friend there is," Jaehyun pinched his cheek only for the boy slapping his hand away with annoyance.

"Don't call me that."

"Winwin, why are you out of your fancy house at this time of night? I thought your parents would be critical over their baby boy's curfew~"

"I should have just let you be caught."

Jaehyun rolled his eyes, "And miss your good friend who always has your back?"

"If by good you mean that you spray paint all over the dance studio because you knew I would save you then yes, I have _such_ good friends." Winwin said through gritted teeth before he crossed his arms.

Johnny can't help but feel left out, pursing his lips that Jaehyun seemed to know Winwin as he called him well without ever bringing him up to them. His face felt hot whenever the boy's eyes looked at him and he ducked his head to avoid them, gulping at the sudden nervousness he felt when he shouldn't be so obvious. He listened to them banter about Jaehyung using the name Winwin and the latter getting frustrated as time passed by before he cleared his throat, "Listen, um, we gotta go before they see us? Taeyong's probably looking for us."

Jaehyun nodded and Winwin turned to Johnny, smiling sheepishly as if to ask for forgiveness with how his friend is acting that the elder hoped the smile he returned wasn't as stupid as he felt at this sudden cuteness that came with the gesture.

He couldn't get a word out before Jaehyun is grabbing Winwin's arm, throwing a grin at Johnny and said "You go on ahead, hyung. I need to escort this princess or else, he'll get kidnapped by strange people."

To which the boy rolled his eyes but still let the other drag him off, "Whatever. You're the most suspicious here," under his breath and sending a nod as a form of goodbye to Johnny before the two of them walk away, rounding a corner and out of Johnny's sight.

It defeated the purpose of him retrieving Jaehyun and he had to wait an hour for the younger to come back, greeted with an "Oh, hyung! I didn't know you missed me!" before he smacked the kid on the side of his head before they met up with the others complaining why they were late.

Johnny didn't dare to ask Jaehyun if Winwin went home safe because that would just be too obvious. Not to mention, creepy when they just met and the younger would definitely ask him why he wanted to know.

 

 

"Hello."

Johnny wished he didn't fall so majestically off his skateboard the moment he hit the ground after grinding it on the rails of the stairs, the old thing flying and rolling all the way to the owner of the voice which was the same boy that's made home in his thoughts for the past days. Winwin is smiling sheepishly at him, eyes shy as they looked away from Johnny's gaze before he picked up the skateboard by the sides.

"Did I startle you?" he asked, guilty because of whatever injury he might have caused the elder but really, the only pain he's given Johnny is the one in his head because when the boy came closer, he was hit with the strong smell of baby powder and strawberries. It made him dizzy that he had to keep a hand on the rails to stop falling to his knees.

He shook his head, not confident that his voice wouldn't betray him and took the skateboard back. He won't even deny that he did let his fingers brush against Winwin's, long and candle-like that it made his insides tingle with nervousness.

He's not like this most of the times and he wished he didn't notice the furrow of Winwin's brows that hoped wasn't because of the gesture.

There's a smile on his lips, reaching a hand out "I don't believe we've properly introduced ourselves but I'm Dong Sicheng. You can just call me Winwin."

Johnny didn't hesitate to shake his hand. "Winwin? Why not Loselose?" he bit his tongue at the absurd stupidity he just said, waiting for the look of disgust that is sure to come but is only greeted with a deep, tinkling laugh.

Sicheng (He doesn't know which is cuter but he likes how Sicheng rolls off his tongue, a Chinese name and he's been studying Chinese for some time) is covering his mouth to minimize the sound but it was there. He tilted his head, "Funny."

"I'm Johnny Seo. Well, it's Youngho but I go by Johnny usually."

"I know," the boy smiled more and Johnny feels oddly flattered at his words until Sicheng added "Jaehyun likes to talk about you. Well, complain mostly."

Johnny's gonna pummel the brat when he sees him, he vowed. He forced a chuckle to hide the murder he's planning to commit. "Complain about what?"

"You act too soft for someone who has a reputation for being bad?" Sicheng tapped his chin in thought before he suddenly clapped his hands and reached into his bag to pull out a plastic folder that had papers inside "I really don't wanna be rude but Ten needs these for our recital. I forgot about it for a moment."

Johnny took it, careful that he doesn't crumple it. "Well, I guess you did need something important."

He's not disappointed, nope. Definitely not.

Sicheng smiled, oblivious. "It was nice meeting you. I need to go to practice now."

Not wanting to let this moment slide, Johnny asked "Oh? Do you dance?"

The younger pursed his lips, cheeks turning pink and he ducked his head. "Chinese Dancing. But I'm learning ballet in the meantime to hone some of my skills. People argue that there’s not much of a difference and I find that offensive," Sicheng covered his mouth with both palms, looking so embarrassed at his words that he patted his cheeks to calm himself down. "I'm sorry but I really need to go."

Johnny didn't even manage to wave good-bye before Sicheng turned on his heels and sprinted to the other direction.

"Cute." he hissed as he clutched his heart, almost dropping the plastic folder before he decided to snoop by flipping it open. He read over the bold print of Swan Lake before he burst out in laughter when he saw that Ten was the black swan Odile and his laughter dying when he saw Sicheng's name paralleled as Odette.

Ten asked him why he had that folder the minute he handed it to the younger when the group met up by the fence, squinting at him as if he had done some sort of crime. "No, seriously. Did you _go_ to the studio? I left it there so there's no way you didn't."

Johnny rolled his eyes. "Sicheng gave it to me."

Jaehyun squinted at him from where he was sitting next to Taeyong who'd been playing Final Fantasy on his PSP. "Why are you calling Winwin by his real name? Did you bump into him?"

"Yeah. He gave it to me and that's why I'm giving that to you, Ten," the elder said before he walked over to Jaehyun and put him in a headlock "Which reminds me, Jeffrey. I heard you've been talking shit about me to him. Care to explain?"

Jaehyun could only chuckle nervously as Johnny started to squeeze his arms around his neck hard enough to choke.

 

 

 

"So glad you could drop by and visit an old friend. Not to mention fix the speaker system." Ten said as he crouched over to where Johnny is screwing the last bolts onto the large boombox. He's not entirely sure how he got to this point but he recalled that Ten had managed to drag him all over to the dance studio this afternoon, past the art they had done on the walls that is now the reason why many passer-bys had taken snapshots of to show on Instagram and into the room where there are metal railings fixated onto the walls in front of large mirrors. The whole place smells like roses and vanilla that Johnny almost felt like a weed in the midst of the people in tights and tutus that were scattered across the room, some leaning their leg onto the poles and bending their bodies forward just like what Johnny had seen in movies.

He patted the top of the boom box, clicking his tongue. "Well, it's all good. You really should buy some new ones. This looks like it's from last century."

Ten crossed his arms and leaned on the wall staring at his reflection, tilting his head to find some dirt "Perhaps. But as long as we have some music, we don't need a new one."

Johnny shrugged, not really seeing any luxury at this. He's already being stared at with his silver accessories and heavy boots that made loud thuds whenever he walked around the polished floor. He's about to go for the door, hoping Jaehyun didn't deface his skateboard because he left it to him for safe-keeping when he collided with someone.

A yelp echoed through the room as Johnny managed to grab the person by the waist, pulling them up before they lost balance. "Watch where you're-"

"I'm really sorry for being late-" is what he's cut off with that Johnny is sure wasn’t directed to him as he stared into wide eyes that belonged to none other than Sicheng. The younger is in his big yellow coat over a white hoodie and he looked absolutely adorable drowning in them.

He barely missed the apology that Sicheng said because he started twisting in his hold and oh, he still has his hands on his waist that he can feel the heat through the thick material of Sicheng’s clothes.  

Johnny immediately lets go as well as moving a few spaces back because those eyelashes are really not doing good for his chest, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sicheng, it’s okay."

Sicheng's face lights up with recognition, mouth parting with a sound of approval "You pronounced it right the first time."

"Ah, yeah, I guess I did. I study Chinese so it's not much of a problem." he blurted out, hands starting to get clammy as the nervousness he felt when he spied Ten staring at them in interest. Sicheng smiled at him before he adjusted his bag on his shoulder, looking right where Ten was standing and he rushed over to give him a one arm hug.

"Hey, hyung," he said, back facing Johnny so he didn't see the bitterness that crossed the other's face as he smiled at Ten "Did you get the script? I really need help with some scenes."

Ten's smile is pure sweetness when he looked up at Sicheng who, despite being younger, is taller than him like most of his friends were and went to his tiptoes to pat his hair. It made a giggle emerge from Sicheng and Johnny really doesn't feel welcome here with how Ten is giving him that look. The same look he gets when he's scheming. "Of course, Winwin. We'll practice later at my house if you like."

Oh no. Sicheng nodded, rushing over to the bench in the corner to change his sport shoes into something more appropriate while Ten smirked at Johnny. There's something akin to a wail of despair that's threatening to bubble out of Johnny's throat but he gulped it down to manage a tight smile. He tore his gaze away from Sicheng toeing into little flats with his head tilted and tongue poking out the corner of his lips to glare at Ten.

Ten knew full well today was their daily hangout in his house and he just invited Sicheng into his house.

That little sneaky shit.

Ten sided up to him, arm around his shoulder and he pulled Johnny down enough so he can whisper to his face without anyone listening in. "You really should be careful where you put those eyes. Someone might see and assume things," he tightened his grip and patted Johnny's back with more force than necessary "See you later."

He let go and skipped over to Sicheng as they started talking. Johnny only walked out with his head already plotting ways to avoid the whole situation if he could. But he can't because they have a gig next week that they needed to practice, the idea of running away just seems cowardly and he didn't want to know what kind of lies Ten might sprout when he isn't there to stop him.

It's a lose-lose situation.

Johnny had to hit his head on the nearest sign post for that thought.

 

 

He can't even play the keytar without those eyes on him and he's messing up more than he should.

Ten is giving him the side-eye every now and then that's followed with a whisper and a giggle that Jaehyun returned as they both looked over at Sicheng who's dressed in a heavy coat that swallowed his skinny frame and the tights that he hadn't changed out of because he's been trying to feel more comfortable with them. It's a good thing that the coat covered him until his thighs because Johnny would probably be blushing redder than a tomato.

Taeyong is scolding him for every key he messes up, hitting him upside his head and he adjusted the strap of his guitar around his shoulder. He held it by the neck, strumming the strings that emitted a grinding thrum on the boom box it’s connected to and made them start from the beginning. Hansol is making beats and his drumsticks always hitting which tempo he needed on each drum, Jaehyun singing the song that Taeyong wrote as the latter rapped in sync.

"Break time. God, I'm starving," Jaehyun yelled, stretching his arms and he walked over to Sicheng "Come on, Winwin. Let's get something from the convenience store."

"Ten and I really need to look over the last parts. You guys had to finish it up before we could," the Chinese boy pouted before he showed the page of what he was reading. Ten is still upstairs probably telling their cook to make them dinner but Jaehyun seemed not to be up for that "Besides, why not ask some from Taeyong-hyung? He's promised me ice cream anyways." Sicheng looked at Taeyong with hopeful eyes, the elder immediately softening as he went over to give his hair a ruffle.

"Sheesh, you two. I forgot what brats you are when you're together."

Jaehyun scoffed "But you like us either way."

Sicheng nodded in response and went to hold Taeyong's hand on his head, "That's why you're my favorite hyung."

Johnny suddenly felt left out because so it seemed most of his friends are close to the person he liked. He turned to Hansol who is raising a brow at him and he's waiting for him to talk to Sicheng as if they were old friends. They stare awkwardly at each other for a moment but Hansol shrugged and went to wiping his drumsticks with a towel.

Sicheng, in the end, left the room with Jaehyun and Taeil who the boy dragged with an arm looped around the elder's to buy some ice cream with money from Taeyong's pockets.  Hansol immediately sat next to Johnny and whispered, "I wouldn't think about it if I were you," Johnny raised a brow at him, unsure at what he's implying before Hansol continued "You'd have to go through Yuta. Taeyong wouldn't bother much but I could be wrong."

"What are you talking about?"

Taeyong chose to eavesdrop at their conversation, Ten hanging by his shoulder as both of them lean down to where Johnny and Hansol were talking. The white-haired male looked a little miffed and said with his eyes on Johnny's "What's with Ten saying you like Winwin, huh?"

Oh. There's a beat of silence, punctuated by the scoff that Johnny made and then the chuckles from Hansol and Ten before the former gritted his teeth, "You should know better than believe Ten of all people."

"If you weren't staring and messing up ogling at Winwin every few seconds, I wouldn't have but the evidence is plain as day. I guess you like them small and innocent-like," this earned Taeyong a kick on the shin while Johnny sported a rather bright red blush across his cheeks "Come on. You're _that_ easy to read."

The latter grumbled a curse under his breath, defending himself "Listen. I don't like that type and I really wasn't giving it any malice-"

The wrong answer because Taeyong's brows furrowed with his scowl. "Oh, so what? My son is not good enough for you?"

"Since when is Winwin your son? Yuta's been calling him that too," Hansol piped up and Ten shushed him. The elder glared at him.

Johnny dragged his palm down his face "Listen. This affects me how?" he groaned out in frustration as Hansol started protesting on why everyone is so hung up on this parent thing to their friend who is nineteen not nine.

It was a good thing that the trio came back from their trip, holding plastic bags filled with food and Sicheng smiled at Johnny when he caught his gaze before he took a bite of his ice cream cone.

No one commented on the shrill noise Johnny made as he fiddled with his keytar.

 

 

"You play the piano too, right?" Sicheng asked, making Johnny jump a little. He placed a hand on his chest and turned to the younger who's halfway through the door with an mug in his hand. The others had gone to pick up the other equipment for their gig, blaming Taeyong for taking pity on the bar owner who was an old grandpa with tattoos around his arms and making the rest of them help him. Johnny had chosen to stay so he could watch over Ten's house because the said owner had chosen to join them. He didn't know that Sicheng was staying back.

Johnny's hands stilled over the ivory keys of the upright piano in Ten's living room, blushing at being caught playing before he chuckled. "My mom always told me I had an attachment to the piano and made me take some lessons."

"Can you read sheet music?" Sicheng said in an excited tone, giving the cup he was holding to Johnny that the latter accepted in confusion. "It's always so cool to see people play the piano."

He nodded, looking down at the contents of the mug to find the rim covered in whipped cream with cocoa shavings. "What is this for?"

The shy smile Sicheng gives him made him look away. "Ten told me he made sure to blast the AC here so I thought you might need something warm," A chuckle "Sadly, I can only make hot chocolate so I hope you don't mind."

Johnny let his hands warm up from the heat permeating through the porcelain, cheeks just as warm. He took a tentative sip, humming at the taste of chocolate and whipped cream that blended into the hot liquid that made his tongue tingle. "It's fine. I'm not picky."

"Taeyong-hyung would disagree and I don't think he's the type to lie to people." Sicheng's answer made something ugly rear at the back of Johnny's head, memories that he had locked up for the sake that Taeyong has long changed from the times he chose to not abide with morality and common courtesy that it'd be useless to bring it up again. Not that Johnny would stoop that low, already having the idea that Sicheng knew about it if he and Taeyong were-he burned his tongue trying to stop himself from saying anything bitter-close.

What was wrong with him? If he even thought that bringing up something Taeyong always felt like repenting over even when it's been years, he must be more fucked up than he thought. It wasn't Taeyong's fault that gangs wanted to pick fights with him and he had no choice but to fight back for everyone's safety.

Taeyong crying was a memory that he didn't want to go through again because it made his entire body cold, his heart squeezing like someone had grabbed it and tried to squash it in their fist.

Sicheng took his silence as a bad sign and waved his hands around that Johnny noticed the band aids around them. "He didn't say anything bad. Just that you're a bit of a pushy busybody and finds his jokes bad that he always seemed to be pissed when you look offended when he makes sarcastic remarks at your jokes."

A sigh of resignation escaped Johnny's mouth that made the steam from the cocoa fizzle out, licking his lips to get rid of any residue of whipped cream "He's always been dramatic."

Sicheng sat down next to Johnny, peering into the piano keys unaware that the latter had choked on the drink that had thankfully turned lukewarm and looked up just in time for Johnny to gulp. "For someone who looks like they can stab anyone with all their sharp chains, it's hard to chalk you up as someone who plays."

Johnny placed the mug on top of the piano, looking down at his wrist with his bracelets that had spikes on them and then to the rips on his black jeans before he raised a brow "It's nice to know my attire is eye-catching to you," he said, amusement bleeding into his words that he couldn't help but chuckle a little.

Sicheng touched some of the keys, tinkling notes without any sort of procession. Just the boy playing with the changes in pitch didn’t fail to make Johnny smile at his efforts. They continued in silence with their shoulders' touching without realizing and Sicheng piped up, surprising Johnny when he leaned close enough that he can see the light in the younger's eyes "That wasn't really what I noticed first though," he said, tilting his head like he was contemplating whether or not he should finish his train of thought "It's nothing."

But to Johnny, it's not just nothing. It's making his stomach make somersaults as he recalled the first times he was almost stalking Sicheng. So maybe his staring was obvious and he can never live it down if it's from the boy he had been staring at for no reason than that he was drawn to him.

Oh, god. He's already seeing the disaster coming his way.

"Taeyong-hyung likes talking about how you're really good with the skateboard. He's always been proud of his tricks whenever he showed them off in the driveway and then he'd start praising you," Sicheng said without noticing that Johnny had thought about something else. He seemed to be excited that he clapsed both his hands on one of Johnny's with childlike excitement "Do tell me about it! Yuta never lets me use a skateboard when we all hang out."

"Who's Yuta?" Johnny managed to say despite zeroing his attention to slim fingers holding his that it would be impossible to control the color rising on his face. He's going to end up looking like a tomato at this rate.

Sicheng sighed, eyes looking far-away and then twisting his mouth in annoyance. “My hyung who likes to act like he’s the younger one.”

Johnny is aware when Sicheng perked his head up and the door opened as Taeyong's head popped out from the crack. The male glared at their hands before he yelled out a "Hey, Winwin. Yuta's here to pick you up already."

He smiled wide before turning to Johnny with a bashful expression while he placed a hand on his shoulder "It was nice talking to you. I hope you can teach me more about skateboarding next time," and rushed towards Taeyong as he whined out a "Did you call Yuta-hyung again?"

Taeyong held his arm and ruffled Sicheng's hair, shaking his head. The latter went past and disappeared into the other room, Taeyong lingering to give Johnny the smug look that made him feel like he's being examined closely.

Taeyong pointed his fingers on his eyes then to Johnny. The universal sign of 'I'm watching you' before he left.

Johnny played Moonlight Sonata to calm himself down. He would have chalked the whole thing as a hallucination but he stared at the porcelain mug with chocolate stains on the rim and blushed.


	2. Balancé

Johnny could say that Sicheng liked him.

At least, he was interested in learning how to skateboard from him because Taeyong like to talk about his skills to the younger a lot. It made him wonder what else Taeyong spoke about him in Sicheng's presence. Did he tell him that he was good at English? Did he try to badmouth him about the fight they had with Ten? Did he try to warn Sicheng about Johnny? A lot of things occupied his mind that he'd often stare into space lost in thought.

Johnny, despite all his bravado, was a little too nervous around people he liked.

It's embarrassing to admit but he's never been good when his feelings are involved and yes, he can flirt if he put his mind to it but with eye contact and blinding smiles, he can get lost. It didn't help that he knew his friends _knew_ about his little crush and they never failed to drop hints about something that related to Sicheng in the most passive-aggressive manner.

Ten would say Sicheng liked Chinese Traditional Dance as if Johnny didn’t already know and that ballet was something to make him feel a little better while he stayed in the neighborhood. The younger would prattle about how Sicheng was very good at anything about flexibility but he didn't want to hurt his body but accidentally pulling a muscle.

Jaehyun would make snide remarks that Sicheng would always go for the nice guys and not someone who would have dangerous pointy objects for accessories.  Johnny often countered that by teasing him how he was doing with his moves on Johnny's neighbor who Jaehyun had once said had the cutest bunny-like expression on his face. It shut him up.

One of the eldest of them all, Taeil would merely give him this inquiring look. He would say things along the lines of "Winwin is a sweet boy and I'd hate for you to be playing around with him just for the hell of it" but Johnny then heard from Taeyong that Taeil didn't want Johnny anywhere near Sicheng if he can help it. Taeil was protective of the younger it seemed and perhaps he should be careful with the elder because even with his dad jokes and endless shouts of strony, he was scary.

Then there was the other eldest Hansol who just gave him a pat on the back and a customary "Beware of Yuta is all I can advice you."

It didn't make any sense because Yuta sounded like Sicheng's mother or something for Hansol to consider him as something that threatened Johnny.

Not that it stuck long enough to Johnny because Taeyong needed him to focus on their gig which was a code word for 'stop thinking about someone I cherish before I kick you'. Their practices came off without a hitch that there was no reason for Taeyong to give him that uplifting piece of advice but he always was breathing down on everyone's neck to ensure that they'd deliver what the crowd wanted. That's how he's been since he had tried to better himself for the good of everyone that cared for him.

Johnny let his skateboard distract him with every glide of the wheels that made this distinct sound against the concrete. He's alone in the skate park at six in the morning, just lax with his foot pushing back to languidly skate about the area. It's different when it's early that there was no soul in the streets and the sun is just peeking through the sky that the heat wasn't too much yet. Times like these reminded him to loosen up with his tricks that he can relax without his feelings rendering him a mess and the rest of friends telling him his feelings are the mess.

He increased speed as he climbed up the ramp and then jumped just as he reached the top, trying to balance the skateboard on his heels before he slammed down the ramp with a loud sound. He did an Ollie when he was halfway downward that the moment he was on level ground, he hobbled when his feet landed a little off the center.

Johnny remembered how Sicheng wanted to learn how to skate but someone didn't want him to be injured which sounded unfair to him. Sicheng's not a child and he's more than capable of taking care of himself that he can make his own choices. He doesn't get it but perhaps it was the aura he brought: childish and innocent like a baby that makes people look at him once then decide it's their duty to protect him. Skateboarding was a leisure that Johnny excelled at and maybe, just maybe-

-he can teach Sicheng.

The blush that exploded out of his face is comical and he crouched down to sit on his skateboard with his face in his hands. It's really something that he should be ashamed of, the idea that he can look so intimidating but acting like a twelve year old girl crushing badly for a boy when he can just make a move. Johnny grabbed fistfuls of his hair in frustration, huffing off his skateboard.

Sicheng came to view rounding out of the corner from the direction of the dance studio all bundled up in that familiar yellow jacket.

Johnny immediately stood up in his surprise when Sicheng yawned into his palm. There were dark circles underneath his eyes that he rubbed on them every few seconds before he hugged himself tighter. Johnny doesn't know if he should hide but why should he do that? He ignored the boy the moment he was walking by the entrance, riding his board once again and kicking a foot back so he can skate somewhere that he can't be seen.

However, there's a sneeze from Sicheng's direction that made him look over his shoulder in time that the boy is lifting his head to meet his eyes.

"Ah, good morning," Sicheng's voice sounded drowsy that his words were slurring over his syllables and he waved a hand at Johnny. He didn't look completely awake when he made his way over to the latter but he tried to smile and Johnny bit his lip.

He returned the greeting just when Sicheng is by his side looking at him balancing on his board with his half-lidded eyes.

There's something adorable with how Sicheng looked like a baby chick with his jacket and his hair is in a state of disarray that made him think maybe he didn't have time to brush it. Still, it didn't make sense why he came from that direction when he lived the opposite. But Johnny could be wrong so he asked despite all his being saying otherwise "Early day?"

Thank god Sicheng didn't notice the shaking in his voice. "No. I slept over the studio for practice," he parted his mouth to let out another small yawn that reminded him too much of a kitten "I have the day off so I was about to go home."

"I guess we have a hard worker on our hands here," Johnny chuckled, skating backwards a bit because his feet were getting a little numb "I don't blame you. Ballet looks easy but knowing Ten and going to his recitals opened my eyes that it's not a dance that's perfected overnight."

Sicheng nodded in agreement, hair bobbing with the movement "It's more than pirouettes and un-deux-trois after all. Balance and stability is crucial in each step," he does a twirl and then stood to his tip toes but wobbled a few seconds later that he reached out to the nearest object.

That being Johnny who was on his skateboard being pulled down until the wheels moved backwards that he stumbled right into Sicheng's arms. Johnny stared into Sicheng's wide eyes while the younger blinked at their closed proximity. He moved back like he was scalded, scared the other would hear his soul leaving his body in embarrassment and Sicheng only smiled sheepishly at him with pink dusting the apples of his cheeks.

"Sorry, god. I'm not usually this clumsy," he blurted out, waving his arms as if they would help him amend the situation.

Sicheng giggled with a hand on his mouth before he too waved his hands to stop him. "It is too early in the morning so I understand."

He didn't because Johnny's face is too hot when the sun isn't even shining down on him. Then without any hesitation, he asked "Sicheng, would you like to borrow my skateboard even for a little while?" He didn't know what he ate (no, he didn't eat breakfast so there's that) that he got that courage from and swallowed when the boy tilted his head at him "I mean, you did say you wanted to learn a bit so why not?"

Sicheng looked at the ground to contemplate, lips pursed and shaking his head "Yuta and Taeyong wouldn't allow it-"

"I'm not Yuta or Taeyong now, am I?"

"They'll beat you up if they find a scratch on me-"

Johnny crossed his arms, daring Sicheng to try and make excuses despite the excited gleam in his eyes the more that Johnny spoke "Please. I'm teaching you so I guarantee I'm not letting you get hurt."

Sicheng tapped his finger on his chin as he mulled it over some more and a large grin broke out of his face. "Alright, then." His voice was giddy and he didn't even hesitate to get into Johnny's space. This made him go backwards but he pretended to do so in the intention of picking up his skateboard that had bumped on the wall of the ramp. He can do this. It's skateboarding and he's good at that.

He kicked his board on the end that it flew up and he caught its top with his hand that elicited a sound of awe from Sicheng. "Okay, do you think you can balance on it?"

"I can balance on my toes," the other boy said when Johnny came to a halt in front of him and laid down the board on the ground "It doesn't look hard to just skate right?"

Sicheng went to put his feet on it, squeaking when the wheels moved forward because he hadn't placed his feet properly. Johnny laughed at him when his hands moved about to try and remedy the situation so he moved closer to hold him by the shoulders. "I think you should really pay attention to how people ride skateboards." he chuckled as he used his foot to nudge Sicheng's so they weren't too close to one another.

Sicheng smiled when he found that the board didn't move as much and then tried to move his hip as if that would move it. It only made Johnny laugh a little at how cute he looked.

Moving his hands down Sicheng's arm to grasp his hand, he walked forward before he dragged the boy with him as the skateboard skated with the movement. Sicheng gasped, staring at how he's moving on the board while Johnny is merely letting him enjoy it.

"Are you going to teach me to actually do this on my own?" Sicheng blurted out after Johnny had managed to just push him to move. He tried to kick back on the skateboard but it ended up being too much force that he almost fell to the ground if it weren't for Johnny grabbing him by the waist.

"I did say I wouldn't let you get hurt so not yet. You're still not in the position to try tricks, you know," Johnny commented the moment Sicheng got his feet to the ground and tried to do the kick that Johnny did to pick up the board, failing when it flopped to the ground "Seriously? I'll teach you how to properly skate next time." he said amidst his laughter and he didn't know what possessed him to ruffle the younger's hair.

Sicheng pouted and Johnny once again realized why he's always so flustered around him. The skateboarding had distracted him for some time to ignore that he had spent time with someone he liked, he had touched him without freaking out over it and they're having a conversation that didn't involve Johnny making a fool out of himself.

He's getting better at this!

Then Sicheng took the hand that was on his head between his and gave him the sweetest smile. Despite how both of them are a little sweaty from moving around so much, Sicheng still looked like he wasn't bothered even with his big coat because he never stopped smiling.

"It's a date," Sicheng said with a wink and before Johnny could process that, his phone rang so he let go of him and picked it up "Hello? Ah! Yuta-hyung! Yes, yes. I'm on my home but-" there's a lot of shouting and rambling on the other line and Sicheng sighed "It's that late? I'm fine so I'll get going already, okay? Good bye."

He faced Johnny after he pocketed his phone, smiling in embarrassment. Sicheng shuffled a little on his feet with his hands in his coat's pockets before he rushed over Johnny to hug him tightly and said "Until next time!" before he ran off to the direction his house was.

Johnny dumbly fell to his knees and it took him a moment to realize what just happened. His thoughts were scattered that only when he could feel the telltale heat rushing on his skin from how red he was did he manage to connect some things.

Taeyong had asked him an hour later as he arrived in the skate park when he saw Johnny sprawled on the concrete looking like the universe had given some enlightenment if he had sunburn.

 

 

He's still sweaty from the club's harsh lights that they had shining down on them throughout the performance that he's thankful the lights are just strobes of blue, green and red now rotating through the room in bursts of color. There's still ringing in his ears from the screams and cheers from the crowd who wanted an encore from their band but he had already grabbed the microphone to yell "Everybody raise your hands up if you're feeling the vibe now!"

His fringe is plastered over his eyes that he had to push it back and grimacing at the feeling of his wet hair, wiping it against his tight jeans. The headphones he has on his head is falling to the back but he had made sure that it was tight enough to not fall off, keeping one ear out to listen to the mixes he's making.

Johnny didn't even expect to be DJ-ing after their performance but Taeyong already told the bar owner about Johnny's skills that the man didn't see any harm in making him do some mixes before they went.

He always felt at home behind the DJ booth, looking over the crowd that had become a mass of bodies dancing, laughing and generally just having fun on the dance floor. The last time he tried to DJ for something was during Ten's birthday where it was all about keeping it lit until even the birthday boy had fallen into his own pool singing Single Ladies at the top of his lungs.

The knobs are turned, the switches pushed up and down to where he saw fit before everyone roared in excitement as the tracks switched from hip hop to EDM that he was satisfied.

"Thank you and enjoy the night!" he yelled to the microphone, giving the headphones to the original DJ who gave him a pat on the back before he walked down the flight of stairs back to ground level where Ten is waiting for him with a grin that suggested nothing good.

He gave the younger a high five but then Ten didn't let his hand go. "What gives?" he yelled over the loud music.

Ten didn't reply and dragged him all the way to one of the booths where Jaehyun is laughing with a telltale flush from the alcohol and has his arms wrapped around Doyoung, Taeyong's neighbor who looked like he's not sure how he ended here. Taeil is eating some chips laughing while Hansol is staring across the dance floor near the entrance and Taeyong is...nowhere to be found?

"Where's Taeyong?" he asked, not liking where this was going and Ten pointed to where Hansol is looking.

There in the middle of the dance floor is Sicheng dancing excitedly with someone he's doesn't know too close to him that if anyone bumped into them, they'd be plastered to one another. Johnny's heart dropped to his stomach that he suddenly didn't feel well, adrenaline rush from before only making him hyperaware when Sicheng hugged the male closer in tune to the song. There's laughter drowned in the crowd with a smile that made him want to break the person's face for-for what? He's not entitled to anything so why is he so mad? What if Sicheng is being taken advantage of? Yeah, it's because of that. It's not him being jealous.

He doesn't even finish that thought because Taeyong is giving him a punch to his side. "Ow!" he yelled, rubbing the spot as the other laughed.

"What's with the murder on your face?" Taeyong grinned while he took a bottle of soda off the table to chug down.

Johnny grumbled an "I think I need to get a drink" to which Taeil gave him a half-filled bottle of soju that he accepted with a fake smile. He didn't need alcohol to worsen his state so he made do by switching it with the water. As he took a sip, he could clearly hear Sicheng's voice yelling out Taeyong's name before he barreled the latter into a hug.

Johnny spat his drink and coughed, hitting his chest to ease himself. Taeyong turned to return the hug before they moved back and Sicheng turned to Johnny. "Oh, hyung! You were really cool up there."

Play cool, play cool. Johnny felt sweat dripping down his hairline when he caught sight of what Sicheng was wearing: black jeans and a shirt with a neckline too low for comfort under a denim jacket and is that eyeliner smudged around his eyes that his gaze was more intense tonight? "Ye-yeah. It's one of my many talents that Taeyong loves bragging about that looped me into this mess." he said, wiping any trace of drool that might be on his mouth.

The same male from before walked over to them and Johnny can see that yes, he's handsome and his smile looked like it can heal a thousand people but there's something off about him. It could have had something to do when he slung a hand over Sicheng's shoulder possessively. "So you really chose Taeyong over me. How cruel."

Sicheng rolled his eyes, pushing the other's hand off that made Johnny breathed easier. "You were the one who said you didn't want to dance anymore. Something about greeting your boyfriend?" he said and the male pouted, choosing to walk past Johnny (he glared at him and Johnny really didn't like him) before he seemed to hug the living daylights out of Hansol.

Johnny returned his attention to Sicheng who waved at him shyly "Thanks for the other day. I hoped that wasn't much of a bother for you to teach me." he said as he sat down near him.

Remembering that time made Johnny remember the hug that only made him deflate when he realized Sicheng probably hugged people out of nowhere. It wasn’t special. He nodded, smiling down at boy while taking a swig off his water. "I had fun, you know. Did you get in trouble for it?"

Sicheng shook his head, eyes trained on the changing lights on the ceiling that Johnny found the way the colors bounced off his skin attractive. "It doesn't matter. They can look at me doing some air flip and they can't do anything about it."

"I'll defend you if it comes to that then."

Sicheng giggled, lips quirking at the corners when he found that Johnny had been staring at him. "It's really nice of you to do that. Taeyong-hyung really didn't exaggerate when he said you had a bleeding heart. Though I'd really like to know you more than the stories that they tell me."

Johnny gulped down his water before he spat it right on Sicheng's face. His heart is beating too fast he can make a tempo out of it and the butterflies in his stomach are doing a weird samba-congo line combo because Sicheng's looking at him with bright eyes that hinted some emotion he can't decipher. It didn't help that his eyes would dart on Sicheng's collarbones when the younger adjusted the collar of his shirt.

"Do you want to-"

"Winwin, come on. Let's dance again because Hansol is being a killjoy~"

Hansol sighed as he let the male drag him over to Sicheng, cutting his words to pout at the male and the elder levelled a look at Johnny that felt like resignation. "I swear, why did you bring him here if you only wanted to be selfish?"

The male rolled his eyes, lips scowling that he leaned over to Sicheng's shoulder and glaring at the boy "Because someone wanted to cheer on his favorite hyung even when I told him Taeyong would be fine without his support."

"You just wanted Sicheng to yourself again, Yuta!" Taeyong called out and Johnny's eyes widened. So this was Yuta that Hansol had warned him about. The same Yuta that had made Sicheng out as a child who can't even properly ride a skateboard because he can't balance on his two legs like a toddler.

Johnny felt something close to irritation bubbling inside of him when Yuta caught his eyes and snuggled closer to Sicheng's neck. "Who's this? One of Taeyong's many punk skateboard friends?"

It was satisfying to see Sicheng hit him off of his shoulder "Are you serious? You know Johnny-hyung."

A flash of recognition passed over Yuta's face and he leaned to Johnny's face with one eye twitching "So you're who Winwin said does cool moves?" he scoffed while his eyes glared at him from head to toe "Taeyong was one thing but you?"

Johnny wanted to throw his water at him so he did.

 

 

So apparently, pissing Yuta off meant revoking all his rights to see Sicheng as if he was Sicheng's legal guardian with every authority over him.

Johnny didn't understand the severity of his offence until he's skating into the park and Taeyong, Jaehyun and hell, even Hansol is looking at him with deadpan expressions. Taeil who had been the one to make him apologize to Yuta during the Japanese male's attempt to pull out Hansol's hold to strangle Johnny simply waved at him. They weren't kicked out because Yuta chose to calm himself enough to walk to the bathroom with his boyfriend in tow doing god knows what while he told Taeyong to send Sicheng home or else he was going to make sure all of Taeyong's equipment disappeared. Needless to say, it's been a week since Johnny has even seen the boy and he's a little miffed.

Taeyong stood up from his seat, giving him a bouquet filled with pink roses bundled in mesh and purple paper with a ribbon tying it together.

"What is this for?" he asked because he didn't want to think Taeyong giving this to him out of the goodness of his heart. That's not how the male was and the grim look on his face said it all.

Taeyong faked wiping a tear on the corner of his eye "Listen, Johnny. If you don't give these to Yuta and beg for forgiveness, these may as well be your funeral flowers for the love life you could have had but died before it even started."

What now? Johnny raised a brow because Taeyong is talking nonsense again.

"You should really have been careful because Yuta had basically grounded Sicheng."

"That doesn't even make sense-"

Taeyong cut him off with a snarl "It does because Sicheng, Yuta and Doyoung live together and Yuta has threatened to take away Sicheng's games and dramas if he even tried to stay at the skate park. We know Yuta is dramatic but hell, so were you when you sprayed him with water for no reason!"

Johnny made a face at this information, staring down at the fresh flowers that smelled really nice and there's a rather interesting idea that formed in his head. It must have shown on his face because Jaehyun grumbled "He's not giving up that easy, huh?"

No, he wasn't.

 

 

In theory, it was perfect.

In real life, it was much harder to do mainly because the only place he was certain he could find Sicheng without anyone knowing is the dance studio.

Well, without anyone knowing didn't apply as he needed Ten's help to know when Sicheng was practicing. It took a lot of bribing the younger with chocolate and buying him those new shoes he's wanted to have but he didn't want to buy with his own money. Johnny isn't even sure why Ten insists that he's too cool for things like that when he had ten tabs on his browser on the best deals for them.

So Johnny is outside the large building, new flowers in his hand and his skateboard on the other. The door man greeted him with a curt smile thinking he was here for the maintenance again and Johnny made his way up to the third floor ballet studio that Ten said was where he texted he and Sicheng would meet up to go through the routine of Odile and Odette.

He saw the door ajar, peeking inside to see Sicheng holding to one of the metal bars strapped to the mirrored walls with his feet spread wide apart. He looked like he was stretching, hand lifting now and then to curve over his head and down to reach his toes even when it looked painful. He admired the way Sicheng's hair was in disarray, sweat on the short hairs on his nape and how he bit his lip when he felt a particular crick on his back when he moved.

He was beautiful.

Johnny took a deep breath, placing his skateboard enough that it wouldn't make sound and opening the door a little wider when Sicheng closed his eyes to concentrate. He lined the flowers with their pink buds hanging over the edge and balanced on their stems then using his foot, he pushed the skateboard and watched with his heart going miles per minute as it slid all the way over to Sicheng.

The boy jolted upright when the board hit his leg, eyes widening at the roses then turning to where Johnny had entered the doorway with a red rose in his hand looking at him in anticipation. "I didn't know how to do this but since you like my skateboard so much, I thought you might have appreciated this," he started, blushing and trying to will his tongue to form coherent sentences rather than numbing "You never did make good with your promise about that date but I could just go ahead to ask you out on one right now."

Sicheng's mouth is open, closing it and then opening it before his palms slapped over it. His face rapidly turned red, eyes darting from the flowers to Johnny's face then closing in embarrassment. "This isn't a prank Jaehyun orchestrated because I told him last week that I liked you the moment I first saw you skateboarding in the park with Yuta's boyfriend, is it?"

It was Johnny's turn to be dumbfounded. "Y-you like me too? And that long?"

"There's really nothing much to it? I mean, it was the unapproachable aura around you but then you went and taught me to skateboard and all that I just-yeah." Sicheng rambled on, turning around to hide his face to no avail because there was a mirror on the wall. Johnny can see him squealing and biting his thumb that he walked over to give him the rose.

He tucked it behind Sicheng's ear, smiling a little brighter when the latter touched it. "I'm not much of a ballet person. But I think I understand what you meant it's all about balance. After all, it should take skill not to fall for you, right?"

Sicheng's response is to hide his face on Johnny's chest so he could muffle his laughter. "That's just sounds so bad."

Johnny used his hand to nudge Sicheng's face up, grinning as he said "I think I need your assistance on finding balance. Say, over dinner?" He couldn't stop himself because it's really happening and maybe he's too excited, too shocked that Sicheng liked him too that he pressed his lips on the crown of Sicheng's head.

"You missed."

Then Sicheng moved to his tip toes so he can gently kiss Johnny's lips before moving backwards with his hands on his mouth. But the corners of his mouth were lifted in his too wide smile that his palms couldn't cover.

 

 

"You're going to make him fall over!"

"He's already fallen for Johnny anyway so what's the use-Ow! Dammit, hyung!" Jaehyun yelled as the empty plastic container is chucked on his head from across the park. Yuta gritted his teeth to retain the healing smile he was famous for but he ended up looking like murderous with his eyes wide.

Johnny ignored them when Sicheng tugged on their joined hands because he was lagging behind and pulling him so they'd comfortable skate next to each other. The younger is smiling wide when he kicked back and gained speed that made his hair flutter with the wind. It's out of its meticulous arrangement and feathered diadem for his role as Odette but he still is wearing his costume that was a just a white leotard with a cape that was decorated lace primed with long white feathers to resemble that of a swan's and white chiffon layered that it flowed with Sicheng's movement. He and Ten matched except the latter was decked in black and the taffeta gave it a more sharp look with the arrangement of the black feather curved.

The moment they had danced around each other on the stage Johnny's breath was lodged in his throat at how sensual it looked. It was filled with terror, fear and passion that he almost couldn't look at Sicheng properly without stuttering when they came out of the dressing room to celebrate. The recital was a success that he saw some little girls and boys running up to Ten and Sicheng to take a photo with before they managed to get away and ate some ice cream with some pizza in the skate park.

He’s still not used to having Sicheng, soft and sweet Sicheng run to his side to lace their fingers together and start telling him about the skateboard videos he was watching the other day. The group had started to get used to it by now except Yuta who could have split them apart if not for Hansol holding his arm. Doyoung just sighed, easing closer to Jaehyun who whispered something to his ear that was probably an insult to Johnny. The two had been getting closer ever since Doyoung found that they had the same taste in music and after a karaoke night with just the two of them and Doyoung singing Jaehyun’s favorite song, it was obvious there was something developing there.

So here they were, Sicheng wearing Johnny's black and white checkered coat that engulfed his entire form as he rode around with him in the skateboard he brought for him. It wasn't anything too fancy because Sicheng still wasn't used to riding it on his own despite being proud of managing to skate on a straight line, the minute he swerved the thing he's always stumbling off with a laugh. Besides, Yuta wouldn't let Johnny hear the end of it if he let go of Sicheng when he was on the thing.

"I should have broken that board the minute Sicheng showed me that." Yuta whispered to Hansol who merely shrugged as he stared at Ten drawing on the pavement with chalk.

Taeyong looked at Johnny and Sicheng's hands fondly, giving two thumbs up when Johnny looked over his shoulder. "You wouldn't."

Yuta rolled his eyes. "I totally would."

Johnny skated forward faster with Sicheng being dragged by his speed that they both erupted into laughter when the end of Sicheng's board bumped onto Johnny's that it toppled over. They let go of each other to hold their skateboards underneath their arms and Johnny ruffled his hair. "I still think you should live Taeyong-hyung instead. Or Taeil-hyung because I don't know how you put up with that every day."

"Hey, Yuta-hyung means well and Jaehyun would probably need to find someone else to be his best friend and set him up with Doyoung-hyung."

Johnny looked over to their group of friends, Taeil beckoning them to take a picture and he sighed. "Well, I still think you should. Taeyong would take care of you."

Sicheng hummed, suddenly feeling like teasing his boyfriend as he patted his back. "I know. He would have been my choice of a boyfriend if you didn't step in."

It earned him being lifted off his feet and twirled around, laughing all the while because Johnny is tickling him to take that back. It's all in good humor that Sicheng hugged him from the back and hooked his chin on the elder's shoulder.

"I love you the most though," he said cheekily as he kissed the corner of Johnny's lips.

"Try using kisses to butter me up and maybe I'll teach you how to do an Ollie."

The smile on Sicheng's face is honestly playing with his heartstrings but Yuta broke the moment by yelling "You teach him aerial tricks and I'm gonna make sure that you'll have your face imprinted on the ramp, Seo!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm lame. Thank you for reading and tell me what you think!


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